The “Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogy were amazing movies about pirates. They always made me ponder what life as a real pirate would be like, and if the movies depicted pirates in a realistic manner.
Some people think about pirates in a silly way, based on correlations from Steve the Pirate in the movie “Dodgeball” to the “pirates” who ran for student body president last year. But are pirates real? Do they really take over ships and even make the news?
Searching for “pirates” on CNN.com will bring up a surprising number of hits. In reading some articles, I learned pirates play a huge economic role in the African country of Somalia. It almost seemed as though Somalia could barely function without these eye-patch wearing, peg-legged nomads of the sea.
Pirates have become heroes in a country where public institutions are falling apart and poverty is the norm.
According to CNN, radical Islamists control most of the country’s southern territory and dole out lashings and stonings on accused criminals.
There hasn’t been a stable central government in more than 20 years. Life expectancy is only 46 years, and a quarter of the children die before they reach the age of 5. However, northern towns are starting to do better because of the pirate economy, which has brought in more than $30 million in ransom this year.
Just this week, pirates hijacked a Saudi-owned supertanker with more than $100 million in crude oil. Negotiations are still being made, but this looks like a huge payday for the pirates and Somalia.
The people of Somalia greatly appreciate what these men – and sometimes women — are trying to do. Some are happy they offer jobs, even if it means being a hostage on one of the ships. The population makes sure the pirates are stocked full of “qat,” a popular narcotic leaf, and some even offer ground support while the international community tries to intervene.
“Regardless of how the money is coming in, legally or illegally, I can say it has started a life in our town,” said Shamso Moalim, a 36-year-old mother of five in Haradhere, Somalia.
She said the children are no longer worried about when their next meal will come, and now they have money to enroll in Islamic schools. Of course, this is all because of the pirates and their “evil” ways.
Towns that were once literally eroding away from years of poverty and destruction are overflowing with restaurants, vehicles and even Internet cafés. Some residents even have used their gains to buy generators, allowing full days of electricity, which was thought unimaginable even only a few years ago.
Piracy is a huge business. It is estimated that their numbers have reached the thousands, as many people see it as a better life. The possibility of being captured is very real, but piracy allows these once poor Somalians the opportunity to give their families a better life.
NATO and the U.S. Navy have tried to stop these pirates from reaching their goals, but they have said they can’t be everywhere. The Navy has urged ships to tighten security, but not much of this helps. However, being a hostage on one of these stolen ships doesn’t seem to be that bad.
Pirates usually treat their hostages well in anticipation of an enormous payday. They hire caterers to cook foods that would accommodate a Westerner’s stomach.
Also, they keep a sturdy supply of cigarettes and alcohol onboard for their prisoners as well. In a day when college students can’t even head down to their local bars anymore to enjoy a nice smoke, this doesn’t seem like a bad deal.
Pirates often come off as nasty, lawless creatures with only bad intentions. But judging a book by its cover couldn’t be more misleading in a case like this.
In a time where even our country’s priorities are more mixed up than a blind dog’s sense of direction, maybe we should take notice of some of the good trying to be shown in this world — even if it does come with a long sword at its side and a parrot on its shoulder.
Pirating stabilizes economies, treats prisoners well
Published: Friday, November 21, 2008
Updated: Friday, November 21, 2008
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4 comments
RightWing
So what "A Typical Leftard" is saying is.... these pirates are good because they are acting as Robin Hood figures? That's hardly an argument. Socialism fails. We've seen that. And we may see it again in January... How would you feel is some "pirates" came and emptied your bank account to "distribute the wealth" to poorer people? What's that you say? You're not evil just because you have some money? Well you don't have money anymore because the socialists just took it and gave it to the poor. Don't forget to thank them for being morally superior and heroic.
A Typical Leftard
What both "K" and Wildcat81 don't understand is that the "pirates" are Third World Peoples of Color. Therefore, these "pirates" are morally superior to all Americans and Westerners. Also these "pirates" are providing a vital public service by redistributing the wealth. They are not pirates but freelance socialists (FS). The FS are simply taking from the evil rich and transfering the wealth to the morally superior poor. If the evil rich countries want to stop this "piracy" they should have C-141 fly over Somalia at low altitude while dropping money on the poor people. We also need to end "globalization." This way this morally superior FS's will be able to develop their indigenious peoples can create a sustainable economy based on selling Politically Correct junk at the K-State Student Union. Peace out,A Leftard
KSUWildcat81
Stealing is stealing. Pirates are not the 'romantic notion' as illustrated by J.Depp et al in the movies. It is criminal, dangerous, and portrays the wrong idea about the real world (well, OUR real world) to millions. Was this written satirically? Awwww.....you GOT me! ;)
K
Since when did stealing become a good thing? I guess as long as there is some kind of good - like sending kids to Islamic Schools where they are taught to be criminals and hate all who do not believe in Islam, then we should just turn a blind eye. I can't believe they paid you for this junk.
